Dri ver

training p rograms can hel p trucking companies save fuel and red uce greenhouse gas emissi ons by increasing

drivers’ skills, k nowledge, and performance. A dri ver-training

program that impro ves fuel economy by 5 percent could save over $1,200 in fuel costs a nd elimina te eight metric tons of greenhouse g

as emissions

per truck e ach ye ar.



## What is t he chall enge?
Even highly experienced truck drivers can boost their skills and enh ance

dri vin g per

forma nce thro ugh driver training programs. Trai ning that targets fuel efficiency

can help driv ers reco gniz e an d ch ange driving habits that w

aste fuel. For ex

ample, driving 65 mph instead of 55mph can use up to 20% more fuel. Idling an engine bu rns almost one gallon of fuel per hour. Drivin g with theengine rpm too high can waste several gallons of fuel e ach hour. Other co mmon habits that reduce fuel e conomy are frequent o r imprope r shi fting

, too-rapid accele ration, too-frequent stops and starts from failing to ant icipa te tr aff ic fl ow, and taking circui tous routes.

Afe w simple

changes in d riving techn iques ca n produce sizable fuel sav ingsof 5 pe rcent o r more. A Canadian study

estima tes tha t m any fleets could achieve a 10 p erc ent fuel economy improvement thro ugh driver trai ning a nd mo nit oring. For a ty pical combination truc k, a 1 0 pe rcen t sav ing i s th e equivalent

of nearly $ 2,500. A study

for the European Commission estimates that an annua l one -day driv ertraining cou rse will improve truc k fuel efficiency by five perce nt. Two

tr ucki ng fleets in Can ada document ed the impact of driver training and found fue l e fficiency improvements of 18 percent and 20 percen t.



## What is t he solut ion?
Well-trained drivers can reducefuel consumptio n by applyin g a nu mber

of si mple

tech niqu es . These include: use cruise contro l where appropriate; co ast whenever

po ssi bl e; b lo ck-s hi ft(go from, for example, 2 nd gear to5 th gear); b rake and accel erate smoothly and gra dua ll y; pro gre ssi ve shi ft(upshift at the l owest rpm possible); limit unnecessary truck idling; start out in a gear that do esn’t

requir e using the throttle w hen releasing the clutch; limitunneces sary shif ting; drive at the lowest engine speed possible; reduce parasitic energy losse s by li miting the use of accessories.

Employers, vocation al schools

, and for-profit training organization s c an teach driv ers these fuel-sav ing t echn iques. Many trucking companies a lso monitor driver pe rformance

and ma y pro vide

ince ntiv es to driv ers who red uce fuel consumption. Electr onic engine monitors can b e us ed to review drivers’ operating patterns and benchmark individ ua l performan ce over time

.


## Th e re su lts a re in

. . . F leetsthat i mprov e fuel econo my by at least 5 per c entthrough drive r training and monitoring programscan save more than $1,200 per truc k each year in fuel cos ts and eli minate 8 metric tons of carbon dioxid e emissions p er truck each year . For a typical long-haul truc k, the initial cost of training and the purchase of rela ted equipment su ch as an electronic engin e moni tor a n d recorder coul d be recouped wit hin tw

o yea rs fro m fuel cost sav ings. Trucking com panies may realize even greater fuel and mai nten ance

sav ingsby usin g technologies that limit truck idl ing and highw ay speed.

Driver trai nin g may generate la rger efficiency gains for vehicl es in urban s ervice, where shi fting practices havemore influence on fuel economy. Good drivi ng practices are al so par

t of cour t eous and safe truck operation thatreflects wel l on the professionalism of the driver and his or he r truck ing com pany.



## Next st eps Trucking firms sh ould consi der im plemen ting dr iver

training programs to reduce fuel costs. To prov ide additional motivation , training can be combined wit h

an ince ntiv e progra m to rewa rd dri versfor enhanced performa n ce. Successful in centive p rograms pay bonuses regula rly and fr equent ly, setrealistic goals, and are simple t o administer. Fleets may contact their national or local truc king organizatio ns for more details on improvi ng driver performance and establishi ng a driver ince ntive p rogram, and may contact their truck de aler o r equip me n t vendor for information on en gine mo nitors and other fuel-s aving devices.